Escape the Night: The Masquerade Part 2
by Dede42
Summary: Trapped in the Victoria Mansion, Joey, Dawn, and their friends now have to figure out how to find nine gems and a crown in order to defeat the Sorceress that is responsible for them all being there, and do it without getting killed? But who will be the first to die?
1. PROLOGUE: NEW SONG, NEW EVIL

Escape the Night: The Masquerade Part 2

A/N: Hello, world and welcome back to _Escape the Night!_ It's time for the second episode of Season 2. As you will recall, Joey has been missing for a month, Dawn has, reluctantly, partnered up with the Society Against Evil to help find him, and now she, Joey, and a group of their friends are trapped in a Victorian mansion with actually vampires!

Will any of them get out of there alive? Time to find out. Onward!

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Escape the Night_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

**PROLOGUE: NEW SONG, NEW EVIL**

When the Darkness that had infected Joey Graceffa when he took the deed from the 1920s house overwhelmed him after growing and festering for a year, he was taken to a mansion located in the Victoria Era.

It was there, an evil woman extracted the Darkness, and forced him with her dark magic to write invitations to invite Dawn Hatcher and a new group of YouTubers to the mansion for a ball.

Dawn went to the mansion with the hope of finding Joey and getting them all out of there before anything bad could happen.

* * *

After being at the mansion for fifteen minutes, the group was greeted by a man named Dorian, who claimed to be the owner of the mansion, and the group soon found a number of clues that hinted that there was something wrong.

When Dorian's daughter, Alison, tried to convince them to leave, Dawn refused to leave without Joey, and things started going wrong when she and Liza were grabbed by two men and carried off, separating them from their friends.

They discovered when face-to-face with Dorian that he was a vampire, and that he was clearly planning on eating them and their friends.

* * *

When the group entered the ballroom, they were soon to discover that the people there were vampires, and only Alison, a vampire herself, was able to keep them safe.

Dorian revealed Joey, who was chained to an x-pole, and freaked the group by using a machine to obtain some of their friend's blood. Dawn and Liza were soon brought in and chained up next to Joey.

When she had a chance, Alison was able to distract the vampires and get the group to safety, while Dawn, Joey, and Liza worked on freeing themselves from the chains and while searching for a way out, figure out a series of clues that lead them to a book and a large black stake.

* * *

The others were searching for salt when two of their numbers got grabbed by two different vampires, and Alison surprised them all by killing a third vampire, one of the two vampires that had grabbed Dawn and Liza, that'd managed to get the drop on them.

Finding a stake and a small book, it's up to Joey, Dawn, and Liz to save their friends and figure out how to get away from the house before it's too late.

* * *

A/N: Yes, it's a bit on the short side, but I will be posting the first chapter tomorrow. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	2. Chapter 1: REUNITED PART ONE

Escape the Night: The Masquerade Part 2

A/N: Hello, world and welcome back to _Escape the Night!_

Yes, it's time for the first chapter and to see if the group can reunite and get out of the mansion before any of them have to die. Onward!

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Escape the Night_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE: REUNITED PART ONE**

'_They took more then just my blood,'_ Joey thought angrily as he, Dawn, and Liza went to the doors that were being guarded by a tall male vampire._ 'I might not remember everything, but after what they put me through this month, they're going to _pay _for threatening my friends!'_ He was going to get his revenge on the vampires, and he was going to start with the one standing watch outside.

They opened the doors and Joey stepped outside with the stake at the ready. "Hey!" he shouted and the guard turned to face him as he thrust the stake forward, stabbing him right in the chest! With a grunt, he yanked it back out, stepping back.

The guard blinked, staggering backwards with a hand over the bleeding hole, and then he collapsed onto the ground _dead_.

"You did it!" Liza squealed, jumping up and down a little.

"Joey, you're official a vampire slayer," Dawn stated, shaken and yet impressed at the same time that her best friend had managed to slay the vampire.

The thrill, however, faded quickly as reality caught up with Liza about their current situation since she wasn't sure of where the rest of their friends were. "Wait," she said. "What everyone else?"

Joey and Dawn exchanged concerned looks, remembering that they weren't completely out of danger just yet. "Let's go find them. Come on." And they ran for the front of the mansion, hoping that their friends were still alive and ok.

* * *

The YouTubers watched from their hiding places as Alison, a female vampire that was helping them find a way to end her own father, fought against a male vampire that'd managed to get the drop on them seconds ago, and they were staring in shock as she ripped the other vampire's throat out with her teeth, and dropped his dead body on the floor.

"_Damn_, girl," Jesse said, impressed as he came out from behind the curtain and the others also came out of hiding, staring at her.

Alison wiped some of the blood from her mouth. "Still don't trust me?" she asked sarcastically.

"Oh, I say that we can trust you," said Ernie, shaken by the experience, but also grateful since she'd kept his twin brother, Artie, from becoming vampire food.

"Jesse! DeStorm! Come here," Alison ordered and pointed to the dead body. "I need your help. We gotta get him out of here."

Jesse and DeStorm both immediately moved forward to do just that, and they each grabbed an arm, lifting the dead body into a sitting position. While DeStorm grabbed the legs, Jesse lifted the body up by his arms.

"Honey," Tana said to Alison, who still had some blood around her mouth, "we need to get you a makeup wipe."

Alison ignored her since they didn't have time to waste. "Don't go too far," she warned them. "Stay close to me."

"This is called a fireman's carry," Jesse bragged as they carry the body out of the room. "I learned this one in the military."

"The only Carey _I _know is Mariah," DeStorm replied dryly.

* * *

Joey, Dawn, and Liza ran around the mansion with the stake and the book in hand. Joey wouldn't admit it, but he was _really _hoping that Dawn was wrong about their friends being here, and that he didn't actually see them in the ballroom earlier. This was his hope since he _really _didn't want anyone to go through the hell he and Dawn had gone through last year, and with all the blood that'd been taken from him by the vampires, he was hoping that the friends he'd glimpsed were actually hallucinations.

His hope, however was dashed when they turned the corner and found tied to two pillars Lauren and Andrea. "Lauren! Andrea!"

"Joey! Dawn! Liza!" Lauren exclaimed, happy to see them as they worked on freeing her and Andrea from the pillars. The moment that she was freed, she immediately hugged Joey, who returned the hug, and then helped Dawn and Liza in freeing Andrea. "How did you all escape?"

"It wasn't easy," Dawn admitted. "And Joey did manage to kill a vampire so we _could _get out." And this got excited reactions from Lauren and Andrea since that meant there was one less vampire to worry about. "How did you two get tied up out here? I thought you and the others were with Alison."

"Whose Alison?" Joey asked.

"She's Dorian's daughter," Dawn informed him and wasn't too surprise when Joey's expression darken a little. "Listen, Joey, she tried to warn us to leave before Liza and I got grabbed, and she did help get the others out of the ballroom earlier."

Andrea nodded. "Yes, and before Lauren and I got grabbed, she told us how we can kill her father," she confirmed, explaining about the search for the salt.

"You both might trust this Alison gal," Joey said, scowling. "But, I already don't trust her."

"Why?" Lauren asked, surprised since she never really seen Joey not trust anyone.

"If you saw what the vampires did to me," Joey said, shuddering at the blurry memories. "You would not…_ever_…trust the vampires."

"They were _eating _him," Liza informed the two girls, and concern immediately appeared on their faces.

"Trust issues aside," Dawn said, trying to get them back to the matter at hand, "let's find the others and get the _hell _out of here before anymore vampires show up." And they ran along the mansion to find their friends.

* * *

A/N: I can't blame Joey for not wanting to trust Alison after what he'd been going through because of the vampires. Ok, so I am going to do my best to update on Friday since I have work back-to-back at the movie theater tomorrow and Thursday. It might be later in the day, but I am _definitely_ going to update.

Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	3. Chapter 2: REUNITED PART TWO

Escape the Night: The Masquerade Part 2

A/N: Hello, world and welcome back to _Escape the Night!_ Yes, I am back with an update and a reminder that I will be leaving for my vacation sometime tomorrow, and I'll be back sometime on Monday. When I get back, I will post another chapter. And I am in need of a vacation, especially after this week alone. _

Anyway, time to see if the group can reunite finally and figure out how to escape the mansion. Onward!

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Escape the Night_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

**CHAPTER TWO: REUNITED PART TWO**

When the group got outside, DeStorm and Jesse carried the dead body under some trees, where they dumped the body while Alex, who was eager to go looking for Lauren, inquired if someone had the salt, and Gabbie held up the bottle that they'd poured the salt into earlier.

"Ok, good," Tyler said, trying and failing to hide the fear in his voice. "We are dwindling in numbers."

Five familiar people ran into view and the group cheered, and they collided with hugs, and Alex immediately hugged Lauren tightly, kissing her fully on the mouth, which got some snickering from some of the others, but he didn't care.

'_I am_ never_ going to let her out of my sight again,'_ Alex thought, relieved to see his girlfriend alive and safe. "Thank God."

"Joey!" Tyler exclaimed once the hugging was done. "Where have you _been?_ _Why_ did you invite us here?"

"I don't remember how I got here," Joey answered, "but I _didn't_ invite you guys here."

"But those invites had _your_ name on it," Gabbie snapped.

"No," said Liza. "He didn't."

"Someone _used_ Joey to bring us here," Dawn agreed.

"I swear, I did _not_ invite you guys here," Joey promised them. "This was _not_ supposed to happen." He then noticed Alison, who still had some blood around her mouth, and he immediately narrowed his eyes, tightening his grip on the stake. "Stay away," he warned, pointing it at her.

The group immediately protested and tried to assured Joey that Alison was on their side, and that she'd been helping them this whole time.

"It's all right," Alison said, unsurprised that Joey would be suspicious of her after everything that her father had done to him. "Joey, I get that you don't trust me, and I respect that. I can, however, promise you, that I _never_ fed on you _once_ this past month."

"You were being fed on?" Jesse asked, recalling the machine back in the ballroom, and Joey nodded. "Damn, man, that sucks."

"And in more ways then one," Joey agreed, but he was still glowering at Alison and it was clear that he still didn't trust her despite the reassurances of his friends.

Alison repressed a sigh, seeing that earning Joey's trust was going to take time, time that they didn't have much of. "I told you my father was lying to you," she explained. "This isn't his estate. The owner is a sorceress. If she has eyes on you, your days in this world are numbered."

"Wait, is she here?" Andrea asked uneasily.

"This sorceress could be the reason why you can't remember how you ended up here, Joey," Dawn remarked, getting a _very_ uneasy feeling, and Joey nodded since it made sense.

"I don't know if she is or not," Alison admitted. "The only way home is in the carriages that you came. It's this way." She walked away, and the others followed her, desperate for the comforts of 2017.

* * *

"Why are we following her?" Joey wondered quietly to Dawn as they followed the female vampire. "She's a vampire."

"And right now, she's the only ally that we have to count on," Dawn replied, also talking quietly so that their friends wouldn't overhear them. "I rather not trust a vampire either, but there's no one else that we can count on until the Society Against Evil _finally_ shows up." And when Joey looked at her questioningly, she quickly explained about how the Society reached out to her after he disappeared, choosing not to tell him that they had kidnapped her and sedated her when she'd been at his and Daniel's house, and that she'd called them after receiving the invitation, plus that they had given her special contact lens so she could see. "Normally, I wouldn't ask them for help, but given how you disappeared, I didn't have much of a choice."

Joey gave her a one-armed hug. "Give the situation, we have to make exceptions sometimes," he said, earning a small smile from her, and then they listened to the group talking to each other, especially how Gabbie and Tana were trying to convince Lauren that she should break up with Alex when he failed to save her from being captured earlier when they got to the front of the mansion-

-and there was _no sign_ of the carriages that brought them there in the first place.

"Where are the carriages?" Lauren, Alex, and Jesse asked at the same time.

Alison faced them with a regretful expression. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "It looks like you're stuck here."

"What?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"Not _again,_" Dawn groaned, already figuring what they were probably gonna have to do in order to get out of there.

Joey was furious that this was happening again, and he pointed the stake at Alison. "Listen up, _Alison,_" he snapped, a cold fury burning in his eyes. "You're going to find us another way out of here. You hear me?"

"Calm down," Alison advised, somehow keeping her composure.

"Don't tell me to _calm down!_" Joey snapped, having had enough of vampires and whatever else was going on in that place that was forcing him, Dawn, and their friends to go through hell…_again_.

Liza grabbed the book that Dawn had been holding and showed it to the group. "Maybe _this_ could help us get out of here."

Alison stared at the book with wide eyes. "Where did you get that?" she asked, clearly surprised to see the book, which she obviously recognized.

"We found it downstairs," Joey answered.

Dawn nodded. "Yeah, it was in the ballroom with the stake."

Alison took the book from Liza, staring at it, and was shocked that she was _actually_ holding it. "There are only rumors that this even existed."

"What _is _it?" several people asked.

Alison didn't answer, but it was clear that she knew what the book was, and she came to a decision. "It's not safe out here," she said with conviction in her voice. "Come with me." And she headed back toward the mansion.

The group exchanged uneasy looks, but they followed after her since she seemed to know what the book was.

* * *

"Dawn, why did you say not again?" Jesse asked when they were back inside and walking down a hallway.

Dawn cringed and even Joey winced. "I said that out loud?" she asked and felt like kicking herself for her slip of tongue when their friends nodded. "Well…"

"We should tell them, Donny," Joey said with a resigned expression on his face. "They have a right to know the truth with everything that's happening."

Dawn sighed, knowing that he was right, especially since it looked like they were going to have to go through something similar in order to get out of that place and back to 2017. "Ok, what I meant by 'not again', it has to do with what Joey, Oli, Eva, and I _really _went through last year…"

* * *

A/N: So much for returning to 2017, they're stuck there for the long haul, and I felt that Joey and Dawn should reveal the truth of last year so that they would have a better understanding of what they are probably gonna have to do to survive. I will see you all on Monday! Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	4. Chapter 3: SORCERESS' DIARY

Escape the Night: The Masquerade Part 2

A/N: Hello, world and welcome back to _Escape the Night!_

I'm back from my vacation, and I'm here to post the next chapter. Onward!

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Escape the Night_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

**CHAPTER THREE: SORCERESS' DIARY**

"Seriously? That's what really happen?" And that was one of many questions that the group had for Dawn and Joey after they shared the real truth about what happen last year at the 1920s house, and out of them, only DeStorm thought they were lying. This was getting Dawn annoyed since he was still acting like his railroad tycoon persona while everyone else had given up on their personas in light of the current situation.

"Wow, so the butler _actually_ did it," Artie remarked, getting a few chuckles, and even Joey and Dawn had to smile since Arthur, when he was pretending to be the butler, had been behind it all.

"If it wasn't for there being _actual_ vampires, I probably would've gotten everyone of here and avoided all of this," Dawn added. "But _no_, there has to be _real_ freakin' vampires!"

"At least they don't glitter," Tyler joked, and this resulted in the group laughing in agreement, making them glad that they weren't dealing with the glittery _Twilight_ vampires.

* * *

Alison soon lead them into a large lounge, and they all had to agree that it was quite beautiful despite the threat of the vampires and the mysterious sorceress that was apparently behind everything going on, including why Joey went missing for a full month.

"Wait," Gabbie said, pointing to a gigantic painting over the fireplace. "Who's _that?_"

The painting was that of a woman, who was both beautiful and deadly at the same time, and her deep V-cut was _far _more revealing then what most of the guys were used to, even more then usual for Jesse. There was also a demented look in her dark eyes that made the group want to run from the room screaming since it looked like she was going to pop out of the painting and attack them.

"It's her," said Joey, who was starting to shake. "I – I've seen her before!"

"What do you mean you've seen her before?" Alex asked while both Dawn and Jesse, who saw this as a clear sign of their friend suffering from a flashback episode, got Joey to sit down on one of the couches. "Do you remember something, Joey?"

Joey nodded. "Not much…but, yes, I remember seeing her before," he confirmed while Dawn held his hands, which were shaking so badly that he had to put the stake down on a low table, and Jesse had a supporting hand on his shoulder. "She's the one who brought me here, and – and – she made me think of you guys even though I didn't want to."

"She must've used dark magic on you, Joey," Dawn guessed, sitting next to him and she was relieved when his hands began to stop shaking, and nodded to Jesse, who returned the nod and moved to one of the chairs in front of the fireplace. "It would explain why you're having troubles remembering. She whammy you."

Joey sighed, figuring that she was right. "Great, _just_ great."

"So, that's the sorceress you were talking about?" Ernie asked Alison while they all sat down on the couches and chairs.

Alison nodded. "That's the sorceress who owns the estate," she confirmed, and she shared with them what she knew. "There's a crown that's rumored to be the tool to take her down. This journal…" She held up the book. "…tells us how to get it." She then handed the journal back to Liza.

Liza looked at the journal with a quizzical expression, wondering how they were going to open it. "How do we unlock it?" she wondered.

"It looks like it needs a key," Joey agreed as they examined the lock on the hinge that was keeping the journal locked.

'_And so it _begins_,'_ Dawn thought, not looking forward to the frustrating routine of searching for keys and combinations after doing it _so _many times last year, and she frowned when she saw that DeStorm was smiling and playing with something on a chain. "DeStorm, why're you smiling like that?" she asked.

DeStorm held up a gold pocket watch that'd come with his outfit, and there was a gold key on it. "I have a key on my watch."

"That seems suspicious," Joey said, eying him suspiciously. "Why do you have a _key, _first of all?"

DeStorm didn't answer the question, instead he just kept smiling and held out a hand for the journal. "Come on," he said. "Pass me the book."

Liza shook her head. "Pass me the _watch_," she requested, standing up with her hand out, and both Dawn and Joey stood on either side of her while the others were waiting to see what would happen with the stand-off that was taking place in front of them.

"What's the matter?" DeStorm asked, still smug. "Don't trust me?"

"No," Liza responded.

"She's right," Lauren agreed from where she was sitting with Alex. "You're _super _shady. Why do you have the key already on your person?"

DeStorm rolled his eyes at the ceiling as he stood up. "Just gimme the damn book and let me-"

"No!" Liza snapped, hugging the journal close. "The watch! Hand it over!"

Jesse surprised everyone when he suddenly stood up with his gun in hand. "How 'bout y'all pass them _both _to _me?_" he suggested, but when he was offered both, he quickly shook his head and sat back down while putting his gun away in its holster. "Never mind. Don't want the responsibility."

DeStorm shook his head and looked at Liza. "Come on," he requested and she suddenly threw the book at him, and he almost dropped the book when he caught it, surprising the group.

Joey was still suspicious of why DeStorm had the key for the book, if that _was_ the key. "I just have to say," he remarked as DeStorm went to work on the lock, "if this key _works, _doesn't that…" He blinked when he heard the lock turn and the book opened. "Wait, it _worked?_"

DeStorm ignored the demands of where he got the pocket watch and the key as he opened the book to start reading as they finally all settled down. "'If you seek the Crown of Oblivion, be prepared for the death to follow'," he read and uneasy looks were exchanged, especially between Dawn and Joey. "'The Sorceress was once a peasant girl who made a deal with a Cursed God for power. She murdered the keeper of this estate and trapped it in time so she might live forever. She has been gathering an army in preparation for a spell that will open a portal to the modern world…and make her empress of all time. The spell requires the evil Joey-'" And he stopped reading, shooting an accusing look at Joey.

This got an immediate reaction out of the others, some thinking that Joey was evil, and others refusing to believe that.

Dawn got up and snatched the book away from DeStorm. "Let me see that," she snapped and Joey joined her as she checked the contents and found the correct sentence. "'The spell requires the evil Joey _carried_'," she read aloud, getting their friends to calm down while she and Joey shot DeStorm an angry look. "_Seriously?_"

"Ok," DeStorm said, raising his hands a little. "I'm just making sure."

Joey wasn't convinced. "Okay, _that's _misleading!"

"Were you trying to frame Joey?" Tana demanded.

DeStorm ignored the question and tried to take the journal back. "Come on, let me just-"

"_No way_," Dawn snapped and they got into a brief tussle over the journal. "I don't _trust_ you to read this right," she added once she got the journal away from him, backing away with Joey at her side. "Do you want to read or should I?"

"I will," said Joey, accepting the journal and he resumed reading while shooting DeStorm a look. "'The spell requires the evil Joey _carried_ with him and eleven innocent lives from the modern day. There are nine gems of power kept by the lieutenants. If they can be gathered and placed in the map, the crown will be revealed. The wearer of the crown will have the power to stop her spell and, with the aid of a keeper of the Light, return home. However, obtaining a gem will require unraveling dark mysteries and voting on two or three who must undertake a terrible challenge that will end in death. Time is short. By morning, her spell will be complete, and there will be no future to return to'."

Dawn groaned, covering her face with her hand. "And _here_ we go again."

"Someone has to _die _for this," Lauren said, feeling sick.

Joey nodded, not happy that they were going to go through this _again_, and both he and Dawn were going to have to vote on which friends would have to go into the final death challenges. "Someone has to die for a gem."

* * *

A/N: Yup, here they go again. There might be a delay for the next update since I might be babysitting my nephews either tomorrow or Wednesday, and so I'll update whenever I have a chance. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	5. Chapter 4: FINDING THE SUNSTONE

Escape the Night: The Masquerade Part 2

A/N: Hello, world and welcome back to _Escape the Night!_

Just a quick update since I won't have time tomorrow as I will be babysitting my nephews again, and I'm going to be taking them to a magic festival at the public library that should be fun. Onward!

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Escape the Night_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

**CHAPTER FOUR: FINDING THE SUNSTONE**

Alison waited for the information to sink in before she spoke. "My father wears a gem around his neck," she informed them. "I've seen it before." She paused for a moment before speaking again. "If we find the sunstone, we have everything we need to destroy him."

Tyler pulled out the map half and set it on the table. "I have a map."

"This is only half the map!" Gabbie complained. "We don't know where the other half is!"

"That's true," Liza agreed.

Tyler rolled his eyes and picked the map back up, standing up as well. "The logical thing to do here," he stated, "is to look at the map, find the rest of it, and go from there."

Joey also stood up and peered at the map. "Is there anything we can do with what we have on the map so far?" he asked and noticed something was on the map half. "It looks like there's figures of people on there." And sure enough, there were figures on the map in red ink.

Tyler took a closer look and saw something else on the map's edge: two obelisks with two hands. "Maybe we should try holding the obelisks," he suggested. "See if _that _does anything."

"There's two obelisks over there," said Artie, pointing to two metal obelisks standing on one of the tables.

Joey went over to them and picked them up, holding one in each hand. "Anything happening?" he asked and they look around the room for any changes. "Guys? These are _really_ heavy."

Jesse looked around and noticed that a section of a side table was lit up. He took a closer look and saw the missing half of the map. "Yo," he said, waving them over. "Come here. It's the other half of the map. Right here. There's the other half."

That was the good news. The bad news was that the missing map half was under glass, and they weren't sure of how to get it out.

Joey set the obelisks down since his arms were getting sore and the light under the map went out.

"No," Jesse scolded him. "Touch 'em again."

"Touch them together!" Alex shouted. "Touch them together!"

Rolling his eyes, Joey grabbed the obelisks, and the map lights up again. "What does it say?" he asked, standing on a chair so that he could see.

"'Stand in high places to see the shape of a sunstone's eye'," Dawn read. "Somehow, we need to get this map half out so that we can find the sunstone and kill Dorian to get the first gem."

"This is _heavy, _guys," Joey complained since his arms were _really _hurting right now. "I gotta put this down. Can someone take it over?"

Surprisingly it was DeStorm who took over on holding the obelisks together, and Joey joined the group around the lit map.

"Guys," the Savant said, picking up a nearby piece of paper and a quill. "I have an idea. We have this paper. We can, like, draw a sketch of it."

Dawn took both items, laid the paper over the lit area, and then she began tracing the map section, including the stick figures in their proper places. "There," she said, setting the sketch next to the map half. "Looks like there's thirteen figures total on the map."_ 'Almost ironic given that there are thirteen of us trapped here thanks to the Sorceress.'_

Tyler took the map halves, putting himself in charge of the task. "Here's what's gonna happen," he stated. "Each of us, I think, has to take one spot in this order."

"Count us off," Gabbie suggested.

Tyler nodded and pointed to Liza. "Ok, you're One."

Liza nodded. "One."

Tyler kept counting, pointing to each member of the group: Lauren was Two, Jesse was Three, DeStorm was Four, Joey was Five, Dawn was Six, Gabbie was Seven, Alex was Eight, Tana was Nine, Tyler was Ten, Artie was Eleven, Ernie was Twelve, and Andrea was Thirteen.

"Okay!" Alex announced. "Memorize your spots!"

"Let's go over there," said Tyler and they left the lounge with Alison in the lead.

* * *

The group headed into the foyer – when Joey stopped them, spotting a vampire lurking around. "There's a vampire!" he hissed and they quickly backed up so that they couldn't bee seen. "There's a vampire!"

Andrea peered around the corner and her heat sank when she realized that the vampire was Vera, the _very_ vampire that'd grabbed her earlier, and was wanting to feed on her._ 'Of _all_ vampires, it just _had_ to be her!'_

* * *

After a full minute, Vera left the foyer, and when Alison was certain that there were no other vampires in the area, she gestured at the group to follow her. "It's safe. She's gone."

"Let's get this done _before_ the vampires come back," Dawn suggested as they entered the foyer and Tyler held up the two map halves.

"Ok," said Tyler, going straight into boss mode. "So, we need thirteen people in thirteen spots. Liza, you're one, so you go over there," he instructed, pointing to a doorway and she hurried over there. "Andrea, you're at the top of the stairs." And he pointed to the nearby staircase.

Nodding, Andrea hurried up the spiral staircase until she was on the second floor landing. And while Tyler directed the others into their positions around the foyer, she started looking around to see if she could find something that could help, or even a clue to help get them out of there without having to do any votes. After hearing what Joey and Dawn had really gone through last year, she would rather _not_ have to vote any of her friends to die.

Tyler looked between the group, who were all in position, and the map, frowning since there was something off. "There's a path," he informed them, "but do you think we need to _take _something on that path?"

"Wait, what?" Joey asked since that didn't make any sense.

"Tyler, what're you talking about?" Dawn asked.

"We need to move," Liza suggested. "In order."

That didn't make any sense to Joey either. "What do you mean, 'move in order?"

"The lines?" Alex suggested, recalling the lines on the map. "Do we just follow…?"

* * *

While they were trying to figure the map out, Andrea spotted a large brown box on a stand, and she had a feeling that there was something inside it that could help them. She opened the box and found a _large_ pile of rope._ 'Of course!'_ she realized, grabbing the heavy rope coil and hurried back to the top of the stairs, calling down to her friends. "Wait! You guys! There's a rope!"

"Rope?" Artie and Ernie repeated, confused.

"Oh," said Alex, figuring it out as the same time as Gabbie. "We have to hold the rope." And the lines on the map _now_ made sense.

* * *

Soon, Andrea was waiting at the top of the stairs, holding one end of the rope while the others passed the rope around, creating a crazy-looking pattern while remaining in their positions, and Tana made a joke about "How many YouTubers did it take to make a puzzle out of rope?", which got a few chuckles from the group. And they soon had the pattern completed.

"We're all connected!" Alex announced and a box on a nearby table popped open, startling them. Dropping the rope, he reached inside and pulled out a metal tube with a glass top as the others joined him. He twisted the base and it lit up brightly. "Oh sorry!" he yelped, turning it off when the others yelped and Alison hissed in pain.

"Ok, that's _definitely_ a sunstone," Dawn muttered, blinking and trying to get the spots out of her vision. "Ow."

"You ok, Donny?" Liza asked, concerned.

Dawn nodded. "I will be," she assured them, "but I'm gonna being seeing spots for a while. Wow, that thing is _bright._"

"So we have the sunstone, we have the stake, and we have the salt," Gabbie said, excited that they had managed to find everything in a single hour.

Alex nodded, becoming grim. "Now we have to figure out how to kill the king," he said. "We just need _him._"

* * *

A/N: Yay! They found the sunstone, and I will post again on Thursday. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	6. Chapter 5: RIDDLE ME THIS

Escape the Night: The Masquerade Part 2

A/N: Hello, world and welcome back to _Escape the Night!_ Yes, I am back with the next chapter, and it's time for the YouTubers to figure out how to get Dorian away from the other vampires so that they can kill him for the gem. Onward!

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Escape the Night_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

**CHAPTER FIVE: RIDDLE ME THIS**

Alison lead them up the stairs to the room that the salt had been found in so that they could come up with how to lure out Dorian, AKA the vampire king, who'd had the nerve to torture Joey, and kill him to get the first gem.

"So, how do we do this?" Alex asked, holding the sunstone in one hand while keeping an arm around Lauren's waist, not wanting her to be taken or used as bait if he had anything to do with it._ 'I failed to keep her from being taken by that vampire earlier, and I'm not making that mistake _again_.'_

"Every full moon, my father gives a vampire the opportunity to dine with him alone," Alison explained. "If the vampire answers the riddle that he asks correctly, they get his honor. But if they answer _in_correctly, the vampire is drained of all their blood."

Dawn made a face. "Yuck, vampires eating other vampires? That's just _wrong_." And the others agreed since it was gross.

"Being his daughter, I have the privilege of knowing the answer," Alison added. "Who would like to go in?"

The group exchanged looks and DeStorm was looking to volunteer Lauren, when Andrea stepped forward.

"_I'll _do it," Andrea offered with a shrug. "I'm good at riddles."

"Ok," said Joey, nodding. "Andrea will do it."

Alison turned to Andrea. "The answer to the riddle will be 'history,'" she informed her. "We have one problem."

"What problem is that?" Artie inquired.

Alison sighed and told Andrea the bad news. "We have to get the human scent off you."

* * *

Going back outside, the group went to where they had left the body of the vampire that Alison had killed earlier, which Dawn recognized as the one that had grabbed her, and she explained to Andrea what she needed to do as she positioned the body so that the wound in the neck was exposed. "In order to remove the human scent from your body," she explained, "you must take two big gulps of this vampire's blood."

"_What?!_" Andrea yelped.

"Ew!" Dawn, Liza, Lauren, Gabbie, and Tana all yelped. "That's just _gross!_" The guys, however, were encouraging Andrea to drink the vampire blood.

Andrea grimaced, but she bent down and, after taking a deep breath, she swallowed some of the blood and quickly backed away, coughing. "That's _gross_."

"One more," Alison reminded her.

Wishing that she'd hadn't volunteered, Andrea went back and took another swallow of the vampire blood, doing her best not to throw up as she swallowed it down. "Omigod," she moaned, wiping away a little blood that had landed on her chin. "That is _scarring_."

Laying the body back down, Alison stood up and produced an intricate black mask, covered in silver patterns. "One more thing," she said, holding up the mask. "You have to wear this mask so they don't recognize you."

"She's a G," DeStorm said proudly.

"Oh _God_," Andrea moaned as Alison put the mask on her face.

"I'm sure you'll do fine, sweetie," Dawn assured her, hoping that she was right and wouldn't see her get torn apart by the vampires.

* * *

Once Andrea was ready, Alison lead Alex, Lauren, DeStorm, Tyler, Tana, and Jesse up to the balcony, pointing to a spot. "Alex, you'll need to shine the sunstone from right here."

"Ok," Alex agreed, getting into position.

* * *

Alison took Joey's group (Joey, Dawn, Gabbie, Ernie, Artie, and Liza) downstairs to the ground, and she told them what to do.

"In order to kill my father," she explained, "we need to create a circle of salt. Once Andrea has gained his favor, she will lure him to the center of the circle. Then, Alex, you will shine the sunstone on him, rendering him unable to move. Finally, Joey will stab him in the chest with the stake."

"I'll make the circle," Gabbie volunteered.

"Okay!" Liza said in a bright voice. "I'll help!"

* * *

While Gabbie and Liza worked on pouring out the salt in a circle, Dawn, Ernie, Artie, and Joey escorted Andrea to the doors of the ballroom, where the vampires were gathered for some kind of event, and Dorian was lounging on his gold throne with the all-too-familiar skull goblet in his hand, watching whatever was going on in the ballroom.

"You got this," Joey reassured her. "You smell like a vampire. You look great."

"Act like you own the place," Dawn suggested.

Artie nodded. "Like you're a princess."

"Or even a queen," Ernie advised.

"Walk confidently and pray nothing goes wrong," Alison added.

Andrea nodded, took a deep breath, and then she pushed open the doors to enter the ballroom._ 'I can do this. I _can_ do this. Oh God, _please_ don't let me become vampire food!'_ she thought fearfully.

* * *

When she entered the ballroom, the _last_ thing Andrea expected to find was vampires scattered around the room and having an freakin' orgy! She felt like she was going to have to scrub her brain out after seeing all of this, and it looked like Dorian was enjoying the show the way he watching his followers._ 'As if I wasn't scarred enough from having to drink vampire blood minutes ago.'_

Just then, Vera walked up to Andrea, who had to resist the impulse to run away screaming when the female vampire touched her semi-bare shoulder.

"Hey," Vera said, moving behind the girl, who turned to face her, "I know you. You look _ravishing _tonight," she continued, gushing as she pulled her close. "Are you here with anyone?"

"No," Andrea lied, acutely aware of Vera's arm around her shoulder. "Not at all."

"Will you dance with me?" Vera requested, taking Andrea's hands into her own.

'_Only way I can keep my cover,'_ Andrea thought, agreeing and Vera moved them toward the center of the room, where they started dancing and Vera commented on how soft her skin was._ 'Ok, _this_ is going to be a _long_ night.'_ And she had _no_ idea of how right she was.

* * *

After dancing for a bit, Vera guided Andrea over to one of the few couches that hadn't been claimed by the making out vampires. "Get comfortable," she suggested, pushing the girl onto the couch, and then sank down to the floor next to her legs, stroking her hand with her own.

Dorian rose from his throne at that moment and gave a speech. "Although our hearts are heavy with this evening's betrayals, we _will_not abandon traditions." He beamed at his guests, but there was no kindness in his smile. "It is a full moon. Time to see who will win the king's favor."

* * *

Outside, Gabbie and Liza finished pouring the salt circle and retreated to the steps to join Alison, Artie, and Ernie while Dawn and Joey were keeping watch through one of the windows, and Dawn was pretty sure she was going to need to scrub her brain out thanks the freakin' orgy that'd been going on _right_ before their very eyes.

* * *

Once he had the attention of his fellow vampires, Dorian spoke the riddle. "I can be created in the present. You may always find me in the past. But the future can never make me. What am I?" He then looked around at the vampires, some of which were trying to figure out the answer, and others who weren't even trying.

Andrea waited a full minute before raising her hand, getting the attention of the vampire king, who nodded to her. "Is it, history?"

"Hmm," said Dorian thoughtfully, giving his goblet to one of the female vampires, and descended the steps while looking at her with interest. "Well, so quick to answer."

'_Was that not the answer?'_ Andrea wondered as he walked toward her._ 'Did Alison just _screw_ me over? Am I going to be the first to die?'_

* * *

A/N: Is Andrea going to become vampire food? You'll just have to wait until tomorrow to find out. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	7. Chapter 6: SLAY THE VAMPIRE KING

Escape the Night: The Masquerade Part 2

A/N: Hello, world and welcome back to _Escape the Night!_ I am back with the next chapter and it's time to see whether Andrea got the riddle right or not. Onward!

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Escape the Night_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

**CHAPTER SIX: SLAY THE VAMPIRE KING**

"Dorian is approaching Andrea," Dawn informed the others. "She must've answered the riddle."_ 'I just hope that it _was_ the _right _answer and not a trick on Alison's behalf.'_

Joey, however, had a dumbfounded expression on his face, because of what was going on in the ballroom. "Guys," he called out. "There's an _actual _orgy going on in there."

"What?"

"Yes."

* * *

Dorian approached Andrea, who was looking at him, and Vera was looking between them. He then smiled. "_That_," he said finally, "is correct." He beamed while Vera was looking disappointed. "You have won the king's favor for the evening," he continued, extending his arm to her, and Andrea graciously took it, standing up. "Please, join me in my private quarters, where we can discuss more…_serious _matters."

Andrea smiled at the vampire king and laughed a little, partly because she was imagining Lauren doing what she was doing, and Alex being _so_ pissed off that he was punching Dorian in the face.

* * *

"They're coming!" Joey hissed. "Hide!" And both he and Dawn retreated to where Gabbie, Ernie, Artie, and Liza were hiding. Above them, Alex gripped the sunstone in his hands, and he was ready to use it on the vampire king.

* * *

Andrea and Dorian exited the ballroom, where the vampire king began admiring the full moon that was high above them.

"What a _lovely _evening," he commented, unaware that Andrea was slowly moving away from him, and he wandered into the salt circle.

"Now!" Dawn shouted while Andrea bolted away, and Dorian spun around, noticing the salt circle that he was standing in the center of.

"What is _this?_" the vampire king demanded, trying to make sense of what was going on.

Dawn wasn't about to let him escape and she shouted out to Alex. "Alex, the sunstone!"

Alex turned the base of the sunstone, lighting it up, and he aimed it at Dorian, trapping him within its blinding light, and the vampire king froze in place. "Now, Joey!"

Joey came out of nowhere, the stake in his grip, and he yelled as he plunged it into Dorian's chest. "That's for _feeding _on me!" And he yanked it out while the vampire king fell backward onto the ground, dead as a doornail.

Alex turned off the sunstone and Dawn called out to Joey, who was breathing hard and staring at the late vampire king. "Get the necklace! Get it!"

Blinking, Joey realized that she was right, snatched the necklace off the body, and he ran back to the others, holding it high. He'd done it! Maybe, _just_ maybe, they would all get out of there alive. And he was soon doing a group hug with Andrea, who was still wearing the mask, Dawn, Gabbie, Ernie, Artie, and Liza.

However, their celebration was cut short when Jesse shouted. "Watch your back!"

Whirling around, they gasped when they saw descending down the stairs toward them, armed with a crossbow, was a woman in a black dress, and she was looking _seriously_ pissed as she aimed the crossbow at them.

"Omigod!"

"Okay!"

"Oh crap!"

"Where'd _she_ come from?!"

"Who _is _that?" Joey gasped, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.

The woman scowled at the terrified YouTubers. "Where do you think _you're _going?"

"Who are _you?_"Liza demanded.

The woman ignored the question. "Call the others," she ordered and soon a flood of vampires came out of the ballroom.

"Run!" Dawn screamed and they bolted for the other end of the yard, glancing up at the balcony, where Alex and the others were also in trouble, having just been cornered by more vampires, one of which had managed to yank the sunstone out of Alex's hands to prevent him from using it on them. "Oh crap!" And they stopped short of falling into a fountain.

"Guys," Joey said as they faced the oncoming vampires, and he pushed Dawn behind him while he held up the blood-stained stake. "Stay behind me. I have the stick."

The vampires stopped short of reaching them, for the woman had come down the stairs with their friends, who were all being shoved over to where they were, and she pointed her crossbow at the terrified group.

"I don't know who _any _of you are, and frankly, I don't _care_," the woman sneered, and the group was starting to suspect that she was the queen of the vampires. She looked to her bloodthirsty underlings, "Kill them all!"

The group fully expected to become vampire food then and there, when Alison ran over and stood in front of them spreading her arms in an attempt to shield them with her own body. "No!" she shouted, getting the attention of the vampires, including the queen. "Wait! Mother, these are my _friends__!_"

Her mother was unimpressed. "I'm sure your _friends _are going to taste delicious," she said with a cold fury, glaring at her daughter.

"No!" Alison insisted. "Father was killed in the proper way. I _demand _you honor vampire law." Her hands curled into fists. "A life for a life."

The vampire queen stared at her daughter for a long moment, glanced at the terrified group, and then she sighed with annoyance. "My _God, _but you're stubborn," she complained, but she knew that her daughter was right, and even _she _had to follow the vampire law. "Very well, then! A life for a life! Which one of your _friends _are you going to send to their death?"

Both Dawn and Joey felt their hearts sink, realizing that there was only _one way _to choose who would be sent to their death. They were going to have to _vote_.

"We'll vote privately on two that will run the race for the golden goblet," Alison stated firmly, proving Dawn and Joey's worst fears. "The winner will survive, and the loser will be the life you take." And with that, she lead the group back into the mansion.

* * *

A/N: Good news is that Dorian is dead, thanks to Joey the Vampire Slayer, and they have the first gem. Bad news, they're now are going to have to do the first vote of the night to send someone into the final death challenge, and whoever loses is gonna be vampire food. I will see you all on Monday with the next chapter. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	8. Chapter 7: FIRST VOTE OF THE NIGHT

Escape the Night: The Masquerade Part 2

A/N: Hello, world and welcome back to _Escape the __Night!_

Yes, I am back with another chapter and it's time for our favorite YouTubers to figure out who they are going to vote for, and because this is the first vote of the night, it could be almost _anyone_ at this point. Onward!

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Escape the Night_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

**CHAPTER SEVEN: FIRST VOTE OF THE NIGHT**

Alison escorted the group back into the lounge, where Joey and Dawn both sank down onto one of the couches with dejected expressions on their faces. The vampire king was dead, thanks to Joey, but now they were going to have to vote on two of their friends to go into the first final death challenge of the night, and they weren't looking forward to this in the _slightest_.

Alex sat down next to them with Lauren, and he had a question for them that wasn't going to be easy to ask, and he wasn't entirely sure that he wanted to hear the answer, but out of everyone there, they were the only ones with first-hand experience when it came to the vote. "Dawn, Joey," he said and they both looked at him. "With the voting that you had to do last year, was it hard?"

"It was hard," Joey confirmed, wishing that this was all a bad dream and he would wake up from it soon. "And it didn't get _any _easier."

"We had to write down the names of who was to go into the final death challenge," Dawn added. "Generally two people, but three have been known to go in as well. And that only happen twice last year. Mostly just two people go into the final death challenges with just one coming back with the exception of one time, where both Oli and Tim survived the final death challenge, and that was the _only _time."

Andrea, who'd taken off the mask and set it on the table next to the stake and the necklace, decided to change the subject, returning them to the present situation. "Let me just say, first off," she said once they all were seated, and she eyed DeStorm, "_he _got the key." She pointed at him. "Never explained it. The key opened up a notebook that had-"

"_And _he tried to pin it on Joey!" Gabbie added.

"'Scuse me," said DeStorm, fixing them all with a look since he was refusing to be blamed for what was going on. "The key is what helped us get that gem right there." And he nodded to the necklace in question.

"But how did you _get_ it?" Ernie questioned him.

"It's shady that you have the key," Tyler remarked, "and we wouldn't have _needed _it had we not been here in the _first _place." And he pointed to Joey, whose face went red when the attention was focused on him.

"Whoa, whoa," said Dawn, "now before the blame game goes _any_ further, remember that it's the _Sorceress_ who's _really _responsible for all of us being here. She _used_ Joey, who's just a victim here just like the rest of us."

DeStorm didn't look convinced. "Really? Then why did he take that _damn_ deed from that house last year?" he demanded. "And where is it by the way?"

Joey bristled. "I only _took_ the deed out of that cursed house in order to make sure no one else failed victim to the evil," he snapped. "I didn't _know_ it was tainted with evil, or that it would infect _me_ like that. As for where it is, the Society Against Evil took the deed from my possession and they have it in secured place. Besides, _why_ would I invite all of you here, and then let myself get chained up and be fed on by vampires? I'm not that sort of person! Never have been and I never _will _be!"

"Enough!" Dawn snapped, fed up with the whole blame game, and she stood up. "We're wasting time and those vampires aren't going to wait forever. Let's – I can't _believe_ I'm saying this again – let's figure out _who _is going into the challenge. Because the sooner we get this done, the sooner we can find the rest of the gems, and the sooner we can _all_ return to 2017. Ok?"

The others, slightly taken aback by her outburst, agreed and split up into groups to decide who among them would go into the challenge, and Dawn gestured to Joey, Alex, and Lauren to follow her near one of the windows. "Ok, we need to decide who to vote for," she said once they were in a circle, "and I'm worried that some of the others will be wanting to send in the weakest person into the challenge."

"Weak? How?" Lauren asked, not liking the sound of that.

Joey sighed, knowing what Dawn was getting at. "Weak as in not pulling their weight or hasn't done anything to help the group."

"Lauren, I'm worried that there are going to be those who will be wanting to vote for you," Dawn informed the blonde. "DeStorm was clearly going to suggest that _you_ lure out the vampire king earlier, I could see it on his face."

"Wait, you're saying that DeStorm, and some of our other friends are wanting to kill me off?" Lauren asked angrily.

"That's what it looks like, but that doesn't mean that it'll happen," Joey added.

"It _won't_ happen," Alex vowed, and he was determined to make sure that his girlfriend wouldn't get voted in. "So, who should we vote for to go into the challenge?"

"I say DeStorm," Lauren said testily. "He's clearly out to get me if he was going to suggest that I should've been the one to lure out Dorian, and he's been acting sketchy lately."

"Ok, so we four are _definitely_ voting for DeStorm," Joey agreed, "but that still leaves the manner of who else is going to be voted for."

Alex had an idea of how to protect his girlfriend…he hoped. "I've got this covered," he said confidently and spoke to the others, who broke off their own conversations to listen to him. "Guys," he said, fixing them all with a look. "If _any _of you are thinking about voting for Lauren to go into the final death challenge, please vote for me instead. I'd rather do the challenge than let her go through it."

* * *

The discussion of who to vote for was still going on when Alison spoke up, getting their attention, and they all quieted down, looking at her.

"It's time to vote," Alison announced, from behind the bar stand and before her were thirteen sets of cards. "The voting is simple," she explained, gesturing to the cards as the group sat back down. "One by one, you'll pick the card for the person you'd like to vote into the challenge. I will then shuffle and draw two. The two names that are drawn will go down to find the golden goblet."

"That's different," Dawn muttered to Joey, who nodded in agreement, having expected to write down names on pieces of papers again.

Alison gestured to Lauren, who stood up and went to vote first. She was unnerved to see that the cards had their pictures on them, and they all looked _really_ disturbing. Swallowing, she steeled herself and selected a card, which she gave to Alison. Once she was done, she returned to her seat and Alex went next.

One by one, they each took their turn to vote until Alison had the chosen cards in her hands. She shuffled the cards several times after confirming that everyone in the group had voted, and then she drew the first card. She examined it for a moment, took a deep breath, and then she revealed it to the group.

"Lauren."

Alex groaned, Lauren shut her eyes, and both Dawn and Joey grimaced since despite their best efforts, Lauren was going to go into the challenge after all.

Alison shuffled the cards a second time and drew another card. Once again she examined it before revealing the card to the group.

"DeStorm."

"Ok," said DeStorm with a smile and a shrug like he didn't have a care in the world, and that he was better then all of them put together.

Alison put the cards down and moved around the bar, gesturing to Lauren and DeStorm. "If you two would follow me," she requested. "Everyone else can stay." And she left the room with Lauren and DeStorm following after her.

Alex watched his girlfriend leave and he felt like he couldn't breath._ 'Why did they vote for her?_ Why_?'_

"Ok," said Dawn, looking at the group, "who here voted for Lauren? Raise your hands." And she felt her heart sink when Tyler, Gabbie, Tana, and Liza all raised their hands, but they were looking sheepish instead of proud. "I'm guessing that DeStorm probably voted for her, too. Who voted for Alex?" And this time Jesse, Artie, and Ernie all raised their hands._ 'Well, at least Alex will know who to blame if Lauren doesn't come back from the challenge.'_

"Thanks _a lot_, guys," Alex snapped, and picked up the stake from the table to examine it while glowering at them. "I hope Lauren comes back so she can help me kick you all to the curb._ Some friends_."

And the ones who had voted for Lauren were _definitely_ feeling guilty by this point.

* * *

A/N: You'll probably noticed that I have changed some of what was said in in this part of the episode, and that I put some stuff that wasn't in the episode itself. Well, that's just how my brain works, folks. I will see you all on Wednesday for the next update. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	9. Chapter 8: RACE FOR THE GOBLET

Escape the Night: The Masquerade Part 2

A/N: Hello, world and welcome back to _Escape the __Night!_

It's time for the first final death challenge of the night, and time to see who will be the winner. Will it be Lauren or will it be DeStorm? Who will become vampire food? Onward!

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Escape the Night_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

**CHAPTER EIGHT: RACE FOR THE GOBLET**

Alison lead Lauren, who was scared out of her mind at the thought of going into a final death challenge, and DeStorm, who looked calm while he was actually shaking on the inside, through the hallway and back to the ballroom. But they both were going to do the best that they could to win, and make it out alive, even if it meant one of them had to die.

'_And to think that Joey and Dawn went through this kind of thing last year,'_ Lauren thought, regretting that she'd ever suspected Joey for deliberately bringing them there when he was a victim, too._ 'If I make this out alive, I'm going to apologize to Joey for suspecting him, _and_ kick the rears of _whoever_ voted me into this challenge.'_

* * *

When they entered the ballroom, the walls with lined with vampires that were staring at them like they were going to be their next meals, there were several objects set up that were covered with white sheets, a stone dragon in the middle of the room, and the vampire queen was seated on the gold throne, staring imperiously at them.

"Each one of you must unravel three clues to find the location of the golden goblet," the vampire queen explained in a slow, cruel voice. "Take your starting places."

Two vampires escorted Lauren and DeStorm to their 'starting places' and the vampire queen spoke again, picking up an hourglass.

"And don't take too long," she added, "otherwise we'll have to kill you both." She smiled cruelly. "And wouldn't _that _be a shame!" She then turned the hourglass over. "Begin!"

Lauren picked up the first clue from the nearby table and read it. "'In the center of three celestial points, silver waits'," she muttered and noticed a star on the floor. "Stars, of course." She spotted another star on the wall behind her, but she was having troubles finding the third star, and then she finally spotted it on the front of one of the male vampires._ 'Ok, so the next clue is between the three stars.'_

DeStorm had also found the three stars and the vampire wearing the third star had hissed at him, making him back up a little. Now he just had to find the silver. "I don't see no damn silver, though…"

Lauren went to a table that was covered with a sheet and was at the middle of the three stars. She pulled the sheet off and screamed when she saw that it was actually a wooden container that had five red-black-white coral snakes slithering around inside it. "Oh God! No!"

'_Snakes! _Why_ did it have to be snakes?!'_ she thought, even though she knew that they were non-venomous, she _so_ didn't want to have to put her hand in the container with the snakes.

* * *

Back in the lounge, when Dawn was asked why she wanted to know who voted for who, she already had an answer ready.

"I wanted to know," she explained in a serious tone, "because I want you _all_ to understand that the blood of whoever doesn't come back from this challenge will be on _all_ of our hands, especially those who voted for Lauren. It won't be actual blood, but that guilt will stick with everyone in this room, and it'll take a _very_ long time to fade away, but it won't ever fade completely."

The ones who voted for Lauren, exchanged guilty looks, for now that it'd been pointed out, they realized that she was right, and the death of the friend that didn't return _would_ be on their heads.

* * *

Finally figuring out the stars clue, DeStorm went to one of the covered objects and removed the sheet, also finding a container filled with coral snakes. "_Hell_ no," he muttered, staring at their slithering forms, and understanding Lauren's shriek seconds ago. Taking a deep breath, he reached into the container and retrieved a small bag that jingled, along with a note.

"All right," he said, opening the bag and found silver coins inside. "I got some silver." He then untangled the note from the bag. "A letter…" Smoothing it out against his palm, he read it to himself. "'I died in battle and need to pay the ferryman to carry me to my eternal rest. Can you please find my coffin, which is marked by the sign of my faith'?"

He glanced over at Lauren, who was still staring at the snakes, and he turned to search the room. "Sign of my faith. Okay." He then spotted a cross at the base of the platform that the gold throne was on, and he went over to it. "Here's a cross." He tugged on the object that bore the cross, and he pulled out a wooden coffin with three triangles on the top.

Lauren took a deep breath, plunged her hand into the container and she retrieved the bag of silver coins. "Ok," she gasped. "I got one!"

"All right!" DeStorm shouted back. "I found a damn coffin!"

Not bothering to read the note, Lauren hurried over to the other side of the throne, where she found a cross, and yanked out a second wooden coffin with the same three triangles on top of the lid. She saw that there were numbers on the triangles and DeStorm was grumbling about needing to find the combination for the lock on the side.

'_Math,'_ she thought, recognizing that the number patterns were equations, which DeStorm was clearly struggling with,_ 'I can do math.'_ She started working on the first math problem. "Three times five is fifteen…minus six…equals nine…"

"How did they get _this?_" DeStorm wondered, shaking his head, and then he focused on the first equation. "Okay, so six times four is twenty-four…twenty-four minus ten make fourteen! Got it!" He didn't care that he distracted Lauren with his shout and he focused on the next equation. "Five times seven is thirty-five, minus five is thirty. Five times seven…so that's seven…"

'_Just ignore him,'_ Lauren thought, focusing on the first equation once again. "Seven times two is fourteen, minus eight is six. This is two!" She then moved onto the second equation, solving it, and then she worked on the third equation.

DeStorm was also on the third equation, and he was struggling with it. "Five times _what _will make-"

"DeStorm, I can't think!"

"I'm trying to figure mine out!"

They finally ignored each other and focused on the third equation, acutely aware that the vampires were starting to grow restless and they didn't know how much time was left on the hourglass.

"So two times nine is eighteen…eighteen minus _what _equals four?" DeStorm muttered, thinking hard and then it clicked. "Fourteen!" He bent down and put the numbers seven, one, and fourteen into the lock. His heart was racing and he breathed a sigh of relief when the lock opened, and he set it aside as he lifted the lid open.

"Holy crap," he muttered, finding himself staring at an _actual _skeleton of a man. "I gotta pay this mother…" And as he began putting the silver coins into the eyes of the skull, Lauren was struggling with the lock on her coffin, and she must've done the math wrong on one of the equations since the lock wouldn't open.

Once DeStorm finished putting the coins into the skull's eyeholes, he straightened up and a vampire wearing green and holding a sword, held out a note with the final clue. He took the clue and read it. "'Take my sword, and slay the dragon who took my life'." He glanced at Lauren, who was still struggling with the lock, and then he took the silver sword from the male vampire.

'_Sorry, girl,'_ DeStorm thought, unsheathing the silver sword and shot the vampires a warning look. "If y'all come over here," he warned them, "I'm gonna slay _your _asses, too!" And with that, he stabbed the sword into the dragon. "Aaah!" Underneath the now-slain dragon, a drawer popped open, and there was a note inside, which he picked up and read it while Lauren stopped trying to work the lock and was slowly standing up. "'The golden goblet is beside the queen's throne. Present this to her'."

'_I've done it,'_ DeStorm thought, smug with himself as he turned to approach the vampire queen and jumped when one of the vampires hissed at him. "_Chill_, bro!" he snapped, holding up the sword, and he bowed his head slightly as he offered the note to the vampire queen.

The vampire queen accepted the note, which she gave to one of the female vampires next to her, reached into a chest, and she removed a gold goblet. Smirking, she presented the goblet to DeStorm, who immediately put down the sword to receive it.

"I'm sorry, girl," DeStorm said to Lauren, but there was _no _regret in his voice, only smug pleasure, "but I got this golden goblet." He hugged it to his chest, savoring the feeling of being alive. "I ain't dying today."

'_I'm _so_ sorry, Alex,'_ Lauren thought, fear filling her up, _'I tried, I _really_ tried. Dawn, Joey, I don't blame _either_ of you for what is about to happen, this isn't your fault, it isn't.'_

"Now that we've got that _finally _over and done with," the vampire queen snapped and gestured at the terrified blonde, "can we _please _kill the other one?"

Lauren screamed and tried to run for the nearest door as the vampires surged after her, and she was sure that she could hear DeStorm shouting after the vampires to kill her._ 'If I come back as a vampire, I'm coming for _you first_, DeStorm!'_ she thought, but she didn't get very far before she collided with Louise, the vampire in the orange suit that'd _claimed_ her earlier.

Louise embraced her, pinning the blonde so that she was pressed against him, and the other vampires slowed down, surrounding them with hungry expressions on their faces while hissing softly. He noted that Alison was dragging DeStorm away, but that didn't matter since he had the one he wanted.

"Please, _don't_," Lauren pleaded, tears streaming down her cheeks as she tried to break free of his embrace, but he was too strong. "Please, don't do this. Let me go, _please._"

"Shh," Louise hushed the blonde, locking eyes with her, and he spoke to her in a soft, soothing voice. "It's ok, you'll be ok, just relax." And he was pleased when her struggles began slowing, and the fear in her eyes started to fade. "That's it," he said and began to gently rub her back with one hand. "Just relax and go to sleep. There will be no pain. Just go to sleep."

Lauren couldn't look away, no matter how hard she tried, and yet, she wasn't scared anymore. Why wasn't she scared? She knew that she'd been scared moments ago, but now she wasn't, and then everything faded from her mind. She was _so_ tired, so _sleepy_. She finally shut her eyes as she laid her head against his chest and, with a quiet sigh, she slipped into a deep sleep.

Louise smiled as the blonde rested her head on his chest and went to sleep. "Good girl," he told her, stilling rubbing her back gently, and his voice was still soft and soothing. "Good girl, that's it. Sleep, sleep deeply and peacefully. There will be no pain. _Sleep_." Once he was certain that Lauren was fully under his spell, he shifted her so that her neck was exposed, and he lowered his face to her neck.

The moment that his fangs entered her soft skin, Lauren let out another quite sigh, and as he slowly and gently fed on her blood, she slowly began to sink into an eternal sleep, knowing only peace and nothing else. He fed for a _full_ minute, enjoying the taste of her, and then he let the other vampires have their turns, too. He watched as they passed her around, feeding on her as they did so, and the blonde never reacted once. He had the first taste of his claim, and he was pleased.

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A/N: RIP Lauren. Yes, I chose to make her death less painful then it actually was in the episode. I will see you all tomorrow with the next chapter. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	10. Chapter 9: GEM MAP

Escape the Night: The Masquerade Part 2

A/N: Hello, world and welcome back to _Escape the __Night!_

This is the final chapter for this episode, and on Monday I will start posting the next episode. Onward!

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Escape the Night_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

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**CHAPTER NINE: GEM MAP**

The group was still waiting in the lounge, and some of them were wondering how long it was going to be before they knew who would come back alive from the final death challenge. Liza was hoping that both Lauren and DeStorm would come back, and that there was a way for them all to leave without having anyone die.

"They're coming," Dawn said suddenly, looking toward the doorway as the others now heard the footsteps that were slowly growing louder. "This is it."_ 'Time to see whose blood will be staining our hands this time.'_

Alison was the first to enter the lounge and she was soon followed by DeStorm, who was clutching a gold goblet, and he was looking _very_ smug without a single sign of regret on his face.

Dawn and Joey both felt their hearts sink when there was no sign of Lauren, and Alex had a shocked expression etched on his face. "Oh no…"

"Omigod!" Gabbie gasped. "Is Lauren dead?"

"I tried to help her as much as I could," DeStorm replied, but it was clear from his tone of voice that he hadn't done _anything_ to help the blonde.

"What is that for?" Joey asked, pointing to the goblet in DeStorm's hand. "Why do you have that?"

DeStorm shrugged. "I have no idea."

"What happened to Lauren?" Alex demanded.

"All of the damn vampires attacked her," DeStorm answered, "and I couldn't save her." And while Alex felt his insides grow cold, DeStorm kept talking. "So that's when we dipped up out of there. _Real _quick."

Alex jumped to his feet, hot tears staining his cheeks, and his voice was filled with rage. "All I heard was _you_ killed Lauren!" he shouted, pointing accusingly at DeStorm.

"I didn't kill her!" DeStorm protested, taken aback. "Whaddya mean?"

Alex, however, spun to point at the so-called friends that had voted his girlfriend into the challenge, and he was _furious_ with them, too. "It's your fault!" he shouted at Tyler, Gabbie, Tana, and Liza, and they all were looking _very_ guilty now. "_You_ did this!"

"I honestly regret it," Tana confessed. "I feel like I made a mistake."

"Well that's what you _all_ get for voting me in," DeStorm sneered and jumped back when Alex tried to go after him, only Joey and Dawn jumping up prevented the attack from happening by grabbing Alex by his arms and shoulders.

"Alex,_ don't,_" Joey insisted while shooting DeStorm a warning look. "He's gotta live with the guilt, just like the rest of us. And we need to _work_ together in order to get out of here."

"Joey's right," Dawn agreed, also shooting DeStorm a warning look. "If we don't work together, we're _all_ gonna die."

Unfortunately, DeStorm couldn't keep his mouth shut, and said something that would _really _turn the group against him. "Lauren deserved to die. She was weak."

Joey, Alex, and Dawn all froze at those words, and Dawn slowly turned to face the black man, letting go of Alex in the process. "Excuse me?" she asked, and though her voice sounded calm, those who knew her, knew this was a bad sign.

'_Uh oh,'_ Liza, Jesse, Ernie, Joey, Tyler, and Artie thought, recognizing the danger signs coming from the brunette._ 'She's about to _blow_!'_

"I _said_, she deserved to die," DeStorm repeated himself. "Lauren was weak, and she needed to die."

"You really believe that?" Dawn questioned and when he nodded, she also nodded. "Ok." She started to turn away, and then she spun back and punched DeStorm in the face hard enough to send him reeling backwards into the bar and his hat fell off. "Scumbag!"

Joey and Alex had to grab the brunette to keep her from going after DeStorm, who was looking shocked, and the others were shocked, too. "Don't you _ever _say that again!" she screamed, struggling in their grips to go after him. "Don't you _ever_ say that about anyone ever _again!_ No one _deserves_ to die in final death challenges! _No one!_"

'_Dawn and Joey both went through this,'_ Alex thought as they managed to get Dawn back on the couch, pinning her between them to keep her from going after DeStorm again._ 'They know how I'm feeling. But the _only_ person who deserves to die is DeStorm.'_

Dawn buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking at both the grief of going through this hell again, and for letting her emotions get the best of her. "I'm sorry, I'm so, _so_ sorry."

"If we want to get out of this, we need to work together," said Tyler in a manner that he hoped wouldn't set anyone off again. "No matter how much we don't like each other."

"What are we gonna do now?" Joey wondered, while rubbing Dawn's back as she slowly started to calm down. He was one of a small handful of people who knew that Dawn had a temper that could blow if triggered, and DeStorm had _definitely_ trigged it.

"We have to find eight more of those," Liza said, pointing to the gem they'd gotten from Dorian, "in exchange for eight lives."

"That's the _only _way?" Andrea asked uneasily.

Tyler nodded. "I'm in."

"Okay," Joey agreed, but he was wishing there was another way that wouldn't require killing off their friends.

Suddenly, Alison headed for the fireplace. "There's something I need to show you." She removed the grate while the group watched her, and she retrieved what appeared to be a giant stone semicircle with curved ram horns sticking out of the sides. It had nine gem-shaped holes in it, each with a tiny silver token above its point. "This," she explained, "is the gem map." She placed it on the table as they all stood up and gathered around the table. "In each of these places belongs a gem. Each token represents one of the lieutenants that hold one of the gems."

Joey picked up the necklace he'd taken from Dorian, and he removed the red gem, holding it up. "Should I put it in?" he asked the group.

Alison nodded. "Put it in."

Swallowing, Joey bent over the gem map and, while Dawn and a few others told him to be careful since none of them knew what would happen, inserted the gem into the first hole, which had a small silver bat symbol above it. The moment he got it in, the whole thing glowed red for a few seconds. Moments later, thunder suddenly clashed, scaring them all, and a cloud of white smoke appeared in the doorway.

Someone or _something_ was coming!

To Be Continued…

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_I have so many, so many regrets._

_So many lies, so many broken ties._

_I wish for my old life._

_Wish I could fix my strike._

_Cause no one truly escapes the night._

_Oh, won't you help me escape the night._

_Oh baby help me escape the night._

_Escape the night._

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A/N: And that's a wrap for the second episode of Season 2. Yeah, DeStorm definitely triggered Dawn by being a jerk about Lauren's death. Anyway, I will see you all on Monday with the start of episode 3. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


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